Stratos International, Inc., which will become part of Emerson Network Power. Emerson will acquire the company for about $85 million. The agreement broadens the scope of Network Power’s offerings and strengthens the position of Emerson Connectivity Solutions in the $35 billion connector industry. Network Power sales in fiscal 2006 were $4.4 billion.More & hellip;
Praxair, Inc., Danbury, CT, has agreed to buy a 50 percent stake in the industrial gases business of Yara International ASA of Norway. The joint venture would initially include Yara’s existing industrial gases businesses in Norway, Denmark and Sweden. The venture would operate under the name Yara Praxair AS and would be based in Oslo, Norway. Yara generated annual sales of US$150 million in fiscal year 2006. More & hellip;
Pearlman Industries, Inc., Commerce, CA, recently acquired by Harbour Group, has acquired Dimensional Tools, Inc., Dallas, TX. Dimensional Tools, distributor of products for the stone fabrication market, will become part of Pearlman’s Keystone Tools division. More & hellip;
RBC Bearings Incorporated, Oxford, CT, a manufacturer of highly-engineered precision plain, roller and ball bearings for the industrial, defense and aerospace industries, has acquired Phoenix Bearings Limited for $4.3 million in cash. Phoenix, in Gloucestershire, England, manufactures bearings for the steel and mining industries as well as other general industrial applications. Phoenix generated revenues of $4.5 million in its most recent calendar year.More & hellip;
Schneider Electric has agreed to acquire Ritto GmbH & Co Kg, a German firm that manufactures door entry and intercom systems for the residential and small tertiary buildings markets. Ritto had revenue of nearly 25 million euro in 2006. The company will be added to Schneider’s offerings in Installation Systems and Control, which includes wiring devices, installation material, control products and VDI.More & hellip;
Rexnord LLC, Milwaukee, WI, reported sales for fiscal 2007 grew 16.1 percent over the prior year to $1.3 billion. Power Transmission sales grew 9.7 percent to $1.18 billion. Sales in the fourth quarter grew 27.1 percent over the prior-year quarter to $386.1 million. PT sales grew 4.2 percent to $316.6 million. Rexnord reported growth across many of its end markets was above average.More & hellip;
Columbus McKinnon Corporation, Amherst, NY, manufacturer and marketer of material handling products, reported sales for its fiscal year 2007 ended on Mar. 31, 2007, were $589.8 million, up 6.1 percent. Sales in the fourth quarter were 4156.9 million, up 6.8 percent from the year-ago period. Profit for fiscal 2007 was $34.1 million, compared with $59.8 million for fiscal 2006.More & hellip; products and services, for $435 million in cash. ChemTreat has annual revenues of $200 million. Danaher is a manufacturer of Professional Instrumentation, Medical Technologies, Industrial Technologies and Tools and Components.More & hellip;
Anixter International Inc., Glenview, IL, distributor of communication products, electrical and electronic wire & cable and a distributor of fasteners and other small parts has acquired Eurofast SAS, Collegien, France, from Lisi SA for $27 million. Eurofast is an aerospace fastener distributor in the aerospace and defense industries. For 2007, Eurofast is expected to generate sales of $22 million. More & hellip;
JH Larson Electrical Company, Plymouth, MN, has purchased Lappin Lighting, a full-service lighting showroom, Minneapolis, MN. Lappin serves the commercial and residential lighting markets. JH Larson serves the electrical, plumbing and HVAC residential and commercial markets. It has 240 employees in eight branches in three states.More & hellip;
Canadian manufacturers had a strong March, following a slight increase in factory shipments in February, as previous supply disruptions caused by the rail strike and the refinery fire in Ontario were rectified. In March, manufacturers shipped goods worth an estimated&nbsp ; $50.1&nbsp ; billion (Canadian), a&nbsp ; 2.8 percent gain over the previous month. For the first quarter, shipments were up&nbsp ; 1 percent compared to the fourth quarter of&nbsp ; 2006. Unfilled factory orders, an indicator of probable future shipments, remained virtually unchanged from February. New orders slipped&nbsp ; 1.4 percent in March.More & hellip;
U.S. industrial production increased 0.7 percent in Aprilafter a decrease of 0.3 percent in March. Output in the manufacturing sector moved up 0.5 percent in April; the increase was led by advances in motor vehicles and parts and in high-technology goods. The rate of capacity utilization for total industry rose 0.4 percentage point, to 81.6 percent, a level 0.6 percentage point above its 1972-2006 average. More & hellip;
U.S. housing starts in April were 2.5 percent above the revised March estimate, but 16.1 percent below April 2006. Permits were down 9 percent from March, and 28.1 percent from April 2006. The Midwest saw the largest drop year-to-date in housing starts, with a 40.2 percent decline. More & hellip;

March U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $371.1 million, according to the American Machine Tool Distributors’Association and the Association for Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTC program, was up 34.9% from February, and up 1.4% from the total of $365.89 million reported for March 2006. With a year-to-date total of $945.27 million, 2007 was up 7.1% compared with 2006. More & hellip; &nbsp ;

Rockwell Automation, Inc., Milwaukee, WI, has agreed to acquire UK-based Industrial Control Services Group Limited for & pound; 110 million (US$218.4 million) in cash. ICS does business as ICS Triplex, a global supplier of control and safety solutions to process industries. ICS Triplex annual revenues are projected to be & pound; 70 million (US$138.9 million) for its current fiscal year. More & hellip;

Emerson, St. Louis, MO, has agreed to buyThe Home Depot, Atlanta, GA, reported first-quarter profit of $1 billion, compared with $1.5 billion in the same period in fiscal 2006. Sales for the first quarter totaled $21.6 billion, a 0.6 percent increase from the first quarter of fiscal 2006. Total sales in the retail segment declined 4.3 percent to $18.5 billion, and comparable store sales declined 7.6 percent. Total sales in the HD Supply segment grew by 46 percent to $3.1 billion, reflecting sales from acquired businesses. Organic sales were down 6.5 percent. More & hellip;
HeidelbergCement AG, Heidelberg, Germany, has agreed to buy Hanson plc for about & pound; 8 billion (US$15.8 billion). HeidelbergCement is one of the top producers of building materials worldwide, with its core products being cement, ready-mixed concrete and concrete products, aggregates, building materials and other products. It had sales in 2006 of & euro; 9 billion (US$12.2 billion). Hanson supplies heavy building materials to the construction industry, with sales of & pound; 4.1 billion (US$7.9 billion) in 2006.More & hellip;
Fenton Hord, head of Wolseley plc’s U.S. building materials business, Stock Building Supply, will retire July 31, 2007. Hord will be succeeded by Joe Appelmann as CEO, who has been with the company for 18 years. When Hord was appointed CEO of the building materials arm in the U.S. in 1987, sales were $113 million. Revenues reached $5.3 billion in 2006.More & hellip;
GE has agreed to sell GE Plastics to Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), an $80 billion global petrochemicals manufacturer, for $11.6 billion in cash plus assumption of debt. GE Plastics is a $6.645 billion global supplier of plastic resins widely used in automotive, healthcare, consumer electronics, transportation, performance packaging, building and construction, telecommunications, and optical media.More & hellip;
Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation has acquired the technology and related assets associated with SMC Electrical Products, Inc.’s industrial medium-voltage adjustable frequency drive business. Eaton Corporation had 2006 sales of $12.4 billion.&nbsp ; More & hellip;
Audax Group, Boston, MA, has acquired UTEX Industries, Inc. Headquartered in Houston, TX, UTEX is a manufacturer of complex gaskets and highly engineered seals to oil and gas, water distribution, and industrial end markets. UTEX CEO Michael Balas will continue to lead the management team. More & hellip;
Diversified industrial manufacturer Illinois Tool Works Inc., Glenview, IL, reported sales in many North American end markets continue to be weak. Sales for the quarter ended April 30, 2007, increased 15 percent. Sales in Engineered Products/North America were down 2 percent from the same period a year ago; Engineered Products/International sales were up 27 percent. Specialty Systems/North America sales were up 9 percent; Specialty Systems/International sales were up 21 percent. ITW is a $14.1 billion manufacturer. More & hellip;
Illinois Tool Works has acquired Tregaskiss Welding Products of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Tregaskiss is a manufacturer of robotic and semi-automatic MIG welding torches and peripherals. More & hellip;
Danaher Corporation has agreed to buy ChemTreat Inc., Glen Allen, VA, a provider of water treatment